The body and social identity: body size in Europe

Thibaut de Saint Pol

The average body size of French people, particularly French women, is the smallest
in Europe. The average height of Europeans increases from south to north, but this
is not the case with body size. Conversely, across Europe, and especially in France,
body characteristics vary widely according to social characteristics. Body size increases
with age and decreases with levels of education, variations that are more marked amongst
women. For women, body size decreases with income, whereas for men it increases. Being
underweight is essentially a female issue, whilst being overweight remains a male
one. Women are generally smaller in body size than men, but there are more women who
are severely obese.